Climate Summit of the Americas: Mexico takes its climate reputation very seriously

The Environmental Defense Fund is dedicated to protect nature and create solutions to preserve our planet and bring economic benefits that help people thrive. They highlight how Mexico is leading the way in global climate affairs.

Governors, ministers, business and community leaders from across the Americas, and the world, convened last week in Jalisco, Mexico for the 2nd Climate Summit of the Americas.

One year after the first star-studded summit held in Ontario, Canada, state and provincial governments reunited to showcase their achievements; highlight further challenges; and push further action and cooperation by states and provinces, as well as national governments.

So-called “subnational” governments have been far more visible on the international stage of global climate action in recent years, particularly in the run-up to the United Nations climate negotiations in Paris.

In 2015, California’s “Under 2 MOU” brought together a total of 135 states, provinces, and regions – representing one quarter of the world economy – to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

While the summit’s purpose is to highlight subnationals, Mexican federal officials, from the newly-named UN climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, to the federal Secretary of Environment and high-ranking energy officials were there to demonstrate, once again, that Mexico takes its climate reputation very seriously.

Aristóteles Sandoval, Governor of the State of Jalisco, signs the 2016 Climate Action Statement during the Climate Summit of Americas. (Photo credit: Twitter @AristotelesSD)

Mexico has long been viewed as a climate leader on the international stage.

In 2010, as the host of the global climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico’s diplomats were lauded for pushing climate talks to break the deadlock from the 2009 Copenhagen meeting. In 2012, Mexico passed landmark federal climate change legislation. And in the run-up to the Paris meeting, when building momentum through country pledges was critical to the negotiations’ success, Mexico was the first among developing economies (and only the fourth country in the world) to formally pledge to cut its emissions.